a new Russian night attack with 48 drones – L’Express

This Wednesday, December 6, Ukraine entered its 651st day of war since the Russian invasion of February 2022. This day will be notably marked by the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a teleconference between the leaders of the G7 countries.

⇒ Negotiations on American aid in Congress.

⇒ Zelensky at a teleconference of G7 leaders.

⇒ A new Russian night attack with 48 drones

Ukraine announced on Wednesday that it had suffered a new night attack from Russia with 48 Iranian-made Shahed drones. “A total of 48 Shahed 136/131 drones were launched,” of which 41 were destroyed by anti-aircraft defenses, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram messaging.

Democrats and Republicans clashed sharply on Tuesday during a meeting of the American Congress devoted to aid to Ukraine. The new capital envelope for the kyiv offensive is at the heart of very acrimonious negotiations. Several members of Congress reported yelling and screaming during the meeting Tuesday afternoon. The Republicans then left the room en bloc.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was to participate in this closed-door briefing by videoconference, canceled his intervention due to a “last minute” event, said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

Washington is the largest provider of military aid to Kiev, having committed tens of billions of dollars since the Russian invasion in February 2022. But Democratic President Joe Biden’s promise to continue financial support to Ukraine is in serious doubt. in danger, a disaster scenario for kyiv, whose counter-offensive in the summer did not bring the hoped-for territorial gains.

A first procedural vote, scheduled for this Wednesday in Congress on a new gigantic military, humanitarian and macroeconomic component for kyiv, should fail unless there is a big surprise. Late Tuesday, Joe Biden expressed his growing frustration: “The inability to support Ukraine is simply absolutely insane. It is contrary to the interests of the United States,” declared the American president. “This is simply a mistake.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to participate in the start of a teleconference between the leaders of the G7 countries organized this Wednesday afternoon, Japanese government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno said.

This teleconference will be held under the aegis of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, explained Hirokazu Matsuno, as Japan holds the rotating presidency of the G7 this year. “Volodymyr Zelensky will participate at the beginning” of the meeting, he said. On this occasion, the G7 leaders will “discuss important topics for the international community such as the situations in Ukraine and the Middle East” and also discuss artificial intelligence (AI), added Hirokazu Matsuno.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is traveling to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia this Wednesday before receiving the Iranian President in Moscow on Thursday. Treated as a pariah by the West and targeted by an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for the “deportation” of Ukrainian children, Vladimir Putin has until now reserved his rare trips abroad to his closest allies.

With the failure of the great Ukrainian summer counter-offensive on the front, the absorption of the shock of Western sanctions by the Russian economy and international attention focused on Gaza and Israel, Vladimir Putin seems more confident.

Three people were killed by Russian shell fire around Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine which has been under intense Russian bombardment for months, Ukrainian authorities announced Tuesday. This regional capital was retaken by Ukrainian forces just over a year ago, but is constantly bombarded by Moscow’s army positioned nearby, across the Dnieper River.

“In the morning, the Russian army relentlessly shelled the city center of Kherson. The occupiers killed two people,” said Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson region. A woman was also killed in her garden in Bilozerka, about 15 kilometers from Kherson, the prosecutor general’s office later said.

Ukraine on Tuesday claimed drone attacks against Russian military sites in the eastern part of Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow and which serves as a rear base for the Russian invasion.

Drones “hit several important military installations in Crimea” including a radar system near the village of Baguerové, in the Kerch peninsula (eastern Crimea), a source in the Ukrainian defense sector told AFP having knowledge of the operations of the security services (SBU).